Of Winning Her Heart
by malfoyisawesome
Summary: DracoHermione. Exempts all events in HBP and DH. 7th year. Draco is dared by his fellow Slytherins to woo Hermione into liking him over the course of thier 7th year as the Head Boy and Head Girl.
1. The Dare

**A/n- Hola readers! This fic is just something I'm putting together in my spare time since I love writing. I've previously written a completed fic called "Enemies Clash", which is Hermione/Draco as well. So you can check that out, although it's from several years ago and the writing is not very advanced. It's around 25 chapters I believe, so if you wanted to check that out, it's cool. **

**Easy to realize, this will end up being Hermione/Draco. D Exempts events in HBP, for the obvious reason of Draco's loyalties. Takes place in Seventh Year, but again, EXEMPTS EVERYTHING IN BOOK 6!!!**

**First chapter of: Of Winning Her Heart**

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**Chapter 1 – The Dare**

"Seriously, Malfoy, you're ridiculous. It's on man!" Blaise joked as he swerved in midair, flying high over Draco Malfoy's head. He swung back and tried to knock a bludger off of Malfoy's skull, missing by inches as Draco dove down.

"Shut up mate, you'll never beat me," Draco taunted back, swinging his club and making hard contact with the bludger, which found its target in Blaise's stomach. Blaise gave"oomph" and fell off his broom 15 feet and landed as a heap on the ground.

Draco flew down, holding Blaise's broom in his left hand, and landed softly on the ground by his side.

"Are you alright mate?" he asked, offering his hand to the bruised Blaise, who took it eagerly and pulled himself up, brushing his body off. He snatched his broom grumpily out of Draco's hand and gave him a dirty look.

"I'm fine, thanks," he spat, and tackled the bludger as it came rocketing back at his face. He struggled for a moment, and finally managed to shove it back into its crate, where he strapped it down quickly, as it was trying to escape.

Both Slytherin boys walked back towards Draco's Manor, where Blaise was staying until school started again in three weeks. Draco's parents were out, no doubt doing the Dark Lord's dirty work, and the boys had the house to themselves for the weekend, at least.

"I really don't see why we shouldn't have a party at your place tonight. At least a few people, you know?" Blaise suggested, and Malfoy thought about it.

"Yeah, sounds good. We have a few owls upstairs in one of the guest bedrooms; we could send them out to some Slytherins. Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Flint, Montague, and whoever else we can get…" Draco replied.

While Draco went upstairs to write and send out the invitations, Blaise went to consult with the house elves to start cooking some food for the kids to snack on.

"Malfoy!!" Blaise called up the stairs. "Draco? Can you hear me?" After a few minutes, he realized that there was no way Malfoy could hear him in this massive house. He apparated up the stairs and searched the rooms until he found Malfoy, who was finishing up the last invite.

"I've been calling you for twenty minutes man."

"You think I can hear you from downstairs? Are you joking? What do you need?" he asked while throwing the last owl, his own, out the window and into the dull morning light. The sun was just about at the top of the sky, so it had to be around midday.

"Do you have fire whiskey? Your bloody elves aren't letting on too much about the alcohol situation," he explained, leaning against the wall of the bedroom, twiddling his fingers.

"Yeah, let me handle it. Can you push all the furniture and shit to the side of the big living room? I'm going to bring in my big ass speakers from my room in a minute, I just need some room."

"Sure…wait. Which living room? You have like four Malfoy."

"The biggest one, near the kitchen, with the green drapes. It has the big leather couch that you're in love with, remember?" he tried to explain, while heading towards his own room.

"Oh, got it. Yeah, I'm on it," he said, and apparated downstairs. Draco headed towards his room, which was only a few doors down. Upon entering, he noticed something out of place.

The first thing was there was someone in the room. "Pansy, what are you doing here? Honestly." Pansy came over to him and clutched onto his arm, smiling widely, and winked at him, batting her eyelashes at him. Draco shrugged her off and headed to his bed.

"I got your invite…" she said flirtatiously, winking at him again. She came and sat down on the bed next to him, as close as humanly possible.

"Sweet…but the party doesn't start for awhile. We still have to set up and everything. I thought I wrote on the invitation to come at 5. It's barely noon," he said cautiously. He moved away just a little bit, shifting uncomfortably.

"I just thought me and you could have a…private party?" she suggested, scooting directly next to him, so she was practically sitting on top of him. Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Uhm… right. Maybe later? I'm supposed to be getting my speakers and bringing them downstairs to the living room…" he said, getting up and pretending to unplug the speakers.

"Draco… the speakers don't have a plug," Pansy simply said, and Draco turned red.

"Right…well then. I'll just hover these," he flicked his wand, "and we'll be off."

"Wait…this letter is for you. It's from Hogwarts," Pansy said, and handed over a big parchment envelope. Draco tore through the parchment and unfolded the letter, reading it over three times.

"Sweet, I'm Head Boy. Ew, Granger is Head Girl. Bloody hell. Whatever, I'll deal. Ok, let's go." He threw the letter onto the bed and directed his magical speakers out his bedroom door and into the hallway.

Twenty minutes and a lot of complaining from Pansy later, they had managed to make their way to the living room and set up the speakers in a corner of the room. Pansy and Blaise had also finally figured out where the alcohol cabinet was, and there was a table groaning with the weight of several bottles of fire whiskey.

"Looks good Draco. I think I'm going to go shower and crap, I'll be down later." Blaise headed off up the staircase and most likely into one of the guest bathrooms. Pansy had collapsed over-dramatically into a large leather armchair, and Draco was placing cups on the table next to the beverages.

Pansy got up and drifted over to Draco, placing her hand on his arm and making swift eye contact. Draco's icy blue eyes bore into her cold, hard blue eyes and began to lead her back onto the couch. She pulled him in front of her, sitting him on the couch, his face now pulled into a smirk.

She straddled him, pulling his face closer and locked her lips onto his. He wrapped his arms around her and they landed on her ass, pulling her closer to him, and her hands tangled themselves nastily into his locks of golden blonde hair.

Draco pulled Pansy onto the couch, lying on top of her, never breaking their lip contact. Continuing their snog, Draco slowly unzipped her sweatshirt, revealing Pansy in a tight, white tank top.

"Yum," Draco said while managing to slip his tongue into Pansy's mouth. He moved his left hand slowly to cup around Pansy's boob, and Pansy smirked into his mouth. "Oh shut up Pans."

"Stop…talking…" she mumbled against his lips, flipping him over so she was on top of him again. His hands managed their way under her shirt and landed on her bra. Pansy moaned softly as they continued to snog passionately.

After about a half hour, they were interrupted. "Hey Draco, the elves said…oh. Sorry mate." It was Blaise, returning from his shower. He seemed to have stopped dead in his tracks at the door. "I'll just…go this way. Yeah."

Draco got off Pansy and stood up groggily. "Where'd he go?" he asked stupidly. Pansy didn't seem to care. She was fixing her shirt. "And fix your hair, Pansy, god, it's a mess."

"Excuse me? Yours isn't exactly godly right now either, Mr. Know-it-all." Draco looked in the mirror, gave himself a disgusted look, and magic-ed his hair back into place. Pansy zippered up her sweatshirt, and both of them looked normal.

"This goes without saying that was mainly for fun, yes?" Draco asked seriously, heading casually towards his kitchen. Pansy shrugged but skipped towards him energetically.

"And maybe there's more where that came from," Pansy flirted. Draco snorted and turned his back and strutted off. Blaise was standing outside the door, hopping from foot to foot.

"There you are Draco. What was that back there? Parkinson?" he whispered.

"Psht. I haven't gotten any in months. It was needed, don't worry. This is typical business," he assured Blaise, then walked past him into the confines of his kitchen. The elves had prepared bowls of snacks on trays, and there were also a few trays of butterbeer. Draco grabbed a bottle and chugged through half of it.

"Can you lot bring this shit out to the room or something. I don't want people seeing this messy ass kitchen. Go! Shoo!" Draco commanded. All at once a fleet of about 20 elves grabbed the trays and skidded out of the room and into the party room.

At this time, Pansy joined the boys in the kitchen. "Your house elves almost flew into me. Jeeze, you really scared them!" she complained.

"Hahaha. That's funny. You're hilarious. Too bad they didn't knock you on your ass," Blaise joked, and just managed to dodge a slap from Pansy.

"Don't even, Blaise, honestly," she huffed and Draco stifled a snigger into his hand, turning it into a cough.

"Well then, I think I should go get ready and…uhm…Pansy, you can get ready upstairs if you want or something. Or go home and then come here…"

"I need more clothes. I'll be back by 4:30 though," she said simply, and apparated. Draco shrugged and headed upstairs.

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"Dracoooooo," Pansy slurred, tripping into his arms. "I wanna lay downnnnn," she finished. Draco blinked and set her on the floor. He had never been this drunk before. The whole house was blurry and tipping.

"Malfoy, man, where do you keep the napkins in this joint? I think your girlfriend just threw up," Blaise asked.

"Uhm… the cabinet I think… I need…something to make the blurry go away," he said, tripping and ending up on the floor. He crawled out of the room and into the kitchen.

"Do you elves have anythingggggg? Wait...anything for…can you make the drunk go… away?" he asked dumbly. Luckily for him, a small elf ran up to him and handed his a tiny vial full of some sickly green liquid.

"Drink this sir!" the elf squeaked, then ran into the party room, probably to clean up whatever Pansy managed to throw up. Draco opened the vial and downed the concoction. His vision cleared and so did his head. He felt completely normal.

"I love magic." He stood up and grabbed a few more of the vials, and handed them out to his friends. It was already getting close to midnight. With a swish of his wand, he cleaned up the room and turned down the music.

"Spin the bottle anyone?" he asked, and cheers rose up from his friends. They all settled into a circle on the ground, and Draco cleared his throat. "Who wants to start us up?"

He grabbed an empty fire whiskey bottle and placed it in the middle of the circle. One of Pansy's brunette friends leaned forward and gave it a good spin. She crossed her fingers and stared pointedly at Draco, giggling. The bottle landed on Crabbe. Draco burst out laughing. The girl leaned forward and kissed Crabbe, and backed away quickly.

Two hours later, spin the bottle had turned into truth or dare. "Draco! Someone dare Draco, he hasn't gone!"

"Ok…uhm…truth or dare Draco?" Flint asked him.

"Dare," he said confidently, smirking. He glared at Flint, expecting an easy dare. Just kiss some girl or something.

Pansy leaned forward to Flint's ear and whispered something. "Oh! That's great! Pansy, you're amazing." He sat back in his seat and smirked towards Draco. Draco's smile faltered.

"What have you guys got for me?"

"So, this year, you have to live with the mudblood, because you're both Heads. Right?"

"Yeah… so what?" he answered hesitantly.

"So, over the course of this year, you have to get with her. Make her fall hard for you, shag her, and dump her. If anyone can do it, you can, Malfoy."

Draco thought about it. It was possible. "But, I don't want to shag a mudblood!"

"Then take the chicken out. And I'll give you a normal, easy dare."

"No way! I'm in! I'll do it."

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"Draco! Get your ass down here please!" Narcissa Malfoy yelled up the stairs to Draco's room. Draco dragged himself off his bed, where he was reading _Quidditch Today, _and grabbed his trunk, wand, broom and owl cage. He whistled and his eagle owl, Zeus, flew into his cage, and Draco's locked it. He apparated down to his kitchen.

Draco was dressed in simple black robes, his Head Boy gleaming on his chest. He had on black dragonskin boots, which clicked on the tiles when he walked.

"Are you ready to go or not Draco? We haven't got all day to bring you to the station!" Lucius demanded.

"Honestly, why do you bother? Just stay here. I don't need you anymore father," Draco spat. The animosity between the two was quite evident. Draco despised his father and the way he was treated.

"Then go alone. I personally have matters to attend to…" he replied dryly as he sipped at his coffee and shifted through some documents.

Draco grabbed a piece of toast and shoved it into his mouth. He swallowed it practically whole, a picked up the handle of his trunk. He used his wand to shrink everything he owned, and pocketed everything.

"I'm going now. I won't be home for the holidays."

"Bye Draco!" Narcissa screamed at him while he apparated away. Off to another year at Hogwarts.

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**First chapter is doneeee. I'll try and update soon. Review it up. **

**Krista **


	2. Mr Moody Pants

**A/n- Yay I'm back. Sorry for the delayed update, I was supposed to get this chapter up by Sunday night but my weekend suddenly got busy and I didn't have enough time. **

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed. If you do read, could you drop a little review? It encourages me, no doubt. D**

**Anyways, on with the story. **

**Oh and… DISCLAIMER- this stuff isn't mine guys. Don't freak out. HP is all J.K's. Thanksss.**

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**Chapter 2- Mr. Moody Pants**

The first thing Draco noticed when stepping onto Platform 9 ¾ was that it seemed empty. This was most likely due to two small reasons. The first reason was mainly because many parents did not wish their children to attend school during a war. The other, more important reason perhaps, was that the train was about to leave.

Draco began running as quickly as possibly. Pansy's face appeared at the door and pulled it open. The train had started to move. Draco took one last leap and dove into the compartment. He landed, panting, on the ground. He began to cough as Pansy shut the door quickly.

Pansy knelt down next to Draco, patting him on the back. "Close one, Draco. Why are you so late?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. She placed her hand on his thigh.

He got up slowly after giving a Pansy a very intimidating look. "Parents held me up. I need to go up front, I'll find you later," he said quickly before slipping out of the carriage into the crowded halls.

Barely managing to slip through the knots of students, he battled his way through the hallways.

"Outta the way! Head Boy! Let me through! He-Hey! Watch the hair!"

By the time he made it to the front of the train and into the Head's compartment, Professor McGonagle had already started her instructions.

"Nice of you to join us Mr. Malfoy," she said, glaring at him, her glasses slipping off the edge of her nose. "As I was saying, your Head Girl and Head Boy," she shot a nasty look at Draco, "will be designing your time tables. They will each give you a fair amount of hours to patrol at night. Any problems, you should contact them."

Hermione was practically wetting herself with excitement, Draco had noticed. He had also deducted that every single one of the Slytherin prefects were absent. He himself had never been to one of these meetings in his days as a prefect. But, being Head Boy, he had decided to show up.

"Now, today you will simply walking around the train, patrolling the students. Make sure that all first years safely get off the train and into the boats to travel across the lake. The second years will need guiding to the carriages. Check the compartments for trouble-makers. Well, I suppose that's it. Have a good term," she finished, and rushed out of the carriage.

Draco was the first to act. He started laughing. Everyone, including Hermione, was staring at him.

"Can you believe that shit? She knows everyone is going to go sit on their asses and soak up the glory of their badges. God, this is pathetic. Everyone outta here, I need a nap," he drawled, and began pushing 5th year prefects towards the sliding glass doors.

Hermione was glaring at him. "Why are you so rude? Honestly, you look well rested to me. Are you a prince or something?"

"Or something." Draco stretched out on one of the comfy benches and closed his eyes.

He kept his eyes closed, even though he could hear Hermione breathing above him. He sensed her eyes boring into his skull, yet he ignored her. Finally, it became annoying, as she hadn't moved. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Do you need something mudblood?"

She huffed angrily and turned on her heel and strutted towards the door. Then, she tripped, and fell through the air miraculously, and fell face first on the hardwood floor.

"Damn it! Owwww; ouch. Shit. That hurt. What tripped me?"

Draco was twirling his wand in his hand and whistling innocently. Hermione turned slowly on the spot and looked at him.

"Did you jinx me?"

"Maybe. You'll never know. Maybe you're just clumsy."

"I don't think so. You tripped me, didn't you?"

"What are you going to do, tell Potty?"

"No, I'm going to wring your-" But the noise stopped. Draco's wand was pointing at her mouth, and she was trying to talk. When she realized he had silenced her, she seemed to scream in anger, although Draco heard none of it.

Nonetheless, she quickly reversed the charm nonverbally, and aimed a slap at Draco's face.

"Hey hey hey! Ha! You missed," he taunted, dodging a slap and then a spell.

"Ughhh!" she raged, and stormed out of the compartment. Within moments, she had returned. She opened her mouth to say something, and then changed her mind, stomping out again. This time, she didn't return.

Draco pulled out his trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it. Before shoving it into a storing cupboard, he fished around for his headphones and dug them out. He then shut his trunk and threw it above him into storage. He pocketed his wand, settled into a comfortable position on his bench, and clicked on his headphones.

His very prized possession, he very much enjoyed this gift from his father. They were magical, so he could enjoy music even at Hogwarts. He turned on shuffle on his mp3 players, and slowly drifted into a fitful nap.

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Draco was rudely awakened two hours later by screaming. Opening his eyes, he realized he was not alone in the compartment anymore. He had been joined by none other than the Golden Trio, and two of their number was already bitching at each other.

Not wanting to be noticed awake, Draco turned the volume louder and closed his eyes again. Unfortunately, he couldn't tune them out. He shrugged off the headphones, and stuffed them into his pocket. He sat up, blinking and rubbing his eyes. He tousled his hair, stood up, and headed towards the door, ignoring the Gryffindors completely.

"Oh, he's finally awake," Weasley commented, and Draco shot him a nasty look before retorting.

"If you and your little mudblood girlfriend could keep it shut for more than 5 seconds, I would still be asleep. But you just have to bicker on and on all day long," he commented, and slipped out of the compartment and down the hallway, not hearing the barrage of insults that attacked his back.

He caught himself fighting down the train again. "Break it up! Get. Out. Of. The. Way! Honestly! Head Boy here! Move it or lose it shorty."

After 10 minutes of fighting and almost getting his robes ripped off his own back, he managed to find Pansy's compartment. He walked in on her and Blaise cuddling in the corner and Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle sitting there like bumps on a log.

"Honestly Parkinson, you're like the town bicycle."

"Well, Draco, you obviously aren't interested. Or, maybe, you're jealous," she replied, snuggling closer into Blaise's arms. Draco mocked throwing up behind her back, but took a seat next to the couple anyways.

"Where you been Malfoy?" Crabbe grunted, shifting in his seat. His beady little eyes darted around the compartment like he had A.D.D.

"I fell asleep in my compartment. Had myself a nice little nap," he said, stretching out and yawning. "I tried to sleep some more, but the mudblood and weasel woke me up with their arguing. Honestly, if they try that crap in my common room this year, I'll kick both their arses."

"Your common room Drakey?" Pansy asked, and Blaise elbowed her in the side. She gave him a nasty look but rephrased. "What do you mean, your common room, Draco?" she said, stressing his name. Draco ignored the first nickname and replied.

"Honestly, you're slower than maple syrup Parkinson. The Heads share a common room, remember? I only tolerate this so I can carry out you and Flint's little dare," he explained mockingly.

He thought for a moment they had been listening to him. But, alas, he was incorrect yet again. Blaise and Pansy were now in a lip-lock. Crabbe and Goyle were both snoring and drooling. The only one apparently listening was Theodore Nott.

"They are honestly very annoying," Nott pointed out, jabbing a finger towards Blaise and Pansy. "And these two… well I'm unsure how they made it past third year."

"I still wonder that myself Todd. And I'm completely in agreement. How was your summer?" he asked.

"Can't complain. Are you playing quidditch this year?"

"Captain. Snape wrote me over the summer about it. Thinking of trying out for Chaser? I've seen you play, you're decent."

"Thinking about it, yeah."

"Well, if you try out, you're in. Just show up."

Draco was twirling his wand between his fingers again and jingling some galleons in his pocket. His stomach was rumbling and he was waiting for the trolley lady to come around with sweets. Just at that moment, the frizzy old lady poked her head into their compartment.

"Anything off the trolley dears?" she wheezed, coughing into her hand. Draco gave her a disgusted look, but ordered a pumpkin pasty, some Drooble's, a sugar quill, a licorice wand, and a few chocolate frogs. He handed over 2 galleons and 13 sickles and headed back to his seat.

Relaxing back in his seat, he popped the pasty into his mouth and swallowed it in one bite. He began to chomp on the licorice wand and offered a frog up to Nott, who snatched it and devoured it in two quick bites.

"Dyoushwntehcrd?" he mumbled with a mouthful of chocolate.

"What?" Draco asked incredulously. "Didn't catch that."

Todd swallowed and licked his lips. "Yum. Sorry about that. Do you want the card?"

"Oh. Sure." Draco grabbed the card from Nott's out stretched his hand. Dumbledore. He had around 40 of Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore again. I've got loads of him." He shoved the card into his pocket. He chucked one of his galleons at Blaise's head, knocking him out of his love session with Pansy.

"Oy! What the bloody hell!" Blaise shouted, whipped around and glaring daggers at Draco, who had collapsed into a fit of laughter. Crabbe and Goyle had finally woken up, Todd was cracking up, and Pansy had a priceless overdramatic look on her face. All was good in the Slytherin compartment.

Another two hours later found Draco getting a leg up into the horse-drawn Heads carriage. Granger was stepping in behind. Draco sat as far away from her as humanly possible and turned his headphones on again.

She ignorantly starting tapping him on the shoulder as the carriage lurched into life. He tried to ignore it as long as possible. But he eventually got fed up with her insistent tap-tap-tapping.

"What in Merlin's name do you need Granger!" he exclaimed, tossing his headphones onto his nick in anger and glaring at her. His cold eyes stared at her warm brown ones and tapped his foot impatiently.

"I was just wondering, Mr. Moody-Pants, if you were going to join me in escorting the first years to the boats, or if I shall have to accompany them myself," she said with dictionary-like speech. Draco eyed her cautiously.

"Well, if you wanted to do it alone then-"

"You're supposed to help you know."

"Well then, fine." He clicked his music back on.

"Wait." He paused the music.

"What Granger?"

"And we need to design the time tables later."

"Alright. Fine." Back on.

"And." Off.

"Yes?"

"Before that we should show them to their common rooms, and help the prefects. You know?"

"Yes Granger. Any more interruptions before I turn back on this music?"

"No. I think everything is settled."

"Good." He was about to turn his song back on when the carriage stopped. The door opened. Without thinking, he jumped out of the door first and stepped into his prime as Head Boy and a natural leader.

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Draco was happily munching upon chicken wings half an hour later. He stuffed his face with potato and turkey next. He finished up with some vanilla ice cream and treacle tart. While enjoying the conversation, he barely contributed. He just ate quietly and followed his mates' talking points.

His eyes drifted to the Gryffindor table and they rested upon Hermione Granger. He glared in her direction, slowly taking in his challenge.

Hermione was around 5'4", with bushy brown hair, although it looked a bit more managed this year. It certainly wasn't bushy. It was in loose soft curls as far as Draco could see. She was wearing light makeup, barely noticeable.

As he watched, the Golden Trio got up and excused themselves from the feast. Hermione had turned around to call out to Potter and Weasley. Draco's eyes slowly traveled down to her ass, which he noticed wasn't anything worth drooling over, although he must admit it was cute.

Once she turned around, Draco traced her body outline. She was certainly thin, and her chest was nice and full. She had filled out over the summer, he noticed. She wouldn't be too much of a problem to shag, even if she was a mudblood. As long as she kept her mouth shut, Draco could handle it.

"Draco, mate, what are you staring at so intently?" Blaise said, spitting some of his chicken at Draco. Draco wiped his face free of spit and rounded on Blaise.

"I'm debating the challenge Blaise."

"I see." Blaise, too, stared at Hermione, who was walking quickly towards the table. Slytherins started booing and hissing. Draco heard murmurs calling her a mudblood and filthy muggleborn.

"Malfoy. Professor Dumbledore wants to see us in his office," she simply stated. Draco pulled himself up from the table and waved half-heartedly to his friends. He gave Blaise a wink and headed out.

"Lead the way then," he replied, and they headed out the doors and up the marble staircase. After taking two more flights of staircases, a hidden passage, two hallways and another staircase, they had found the entrance to his office.

"Sugar Quill," Hermione said to the wall, which groaned open to reveal a revolving staircase. She turned to Draco. "Professor Snape told me on the way to your table." Draco simply nodded and stepped onto the staircase and headed up, Hermione behind him.

He planned on starting the plan tonight, just to get this over with so he could eventually find a real girl to shag before graduation. Overall, he was a bit surprised his father did not have an arranged marriage for him, as was the custom in pureblood families.

They had reached the top. He knocked and was immediately asked to enter. Dumbledore was seated behind his desk, looking just as old and tired as always.

"Welcome Hermione and Draco. I do not have but a few minutes to spare. However, I would like to welcome you back to your final year at Hogwarts and also to congratulate you both on your title as Heads." He took a break just then, and put his fingers together, breathing deeply.

"Obviously, this job takes a lot of responsibility and dedication. I expect you both to fully put your efforts into this great honor, as well as your school work. After all, this is a big year. You must also complete you N.E.W.T's as well, you are, I'm sure, aware," he continued. Draco and Hermione exchanged small glances before turning their attention back to the Professor.

"So, with that said and done, thank you for coming here. Your common room and dormitories are situated on the fourth floor, the first door to your left right off the main staircase. The password is "Green Clover" for now, although it will be changed with your notification very often. Well, I must return to the feast and you two must resume your duties I'd expect. Off you trot!" he said excitedly, and shuffled them out the door and back down the staircase.

Coming out of the entrance, Draco mocked tripping and fell into Hermione. His head felt for her ass and it landed there, and he pretended to use it to keep him steady.

"Woops, sorry Granger." His hand remained on her butt a little longer than needed, but he finally pulled away. "My bad. Tripped."

She glared at him oddly but forgave him anyways. She headed off to the feast and Draco followed shortly after, entering the feast just as the crowd was moving out. He found the Slytherin prefects, directed them on what to do, and took a group of first years as well.

After a long exhausting process of directing the first years, Draco headed back to his common room. He found the door alright and repeated the password, letting himself in and set his eyes on a magnificent room.

It easily took up not only the fourth floor, but also the fifth. There were couches, chairs, poufs, small tables and desks littering the first floor. Along the back wall was a large bookcase filled with assorted novels and volumes. Off in one corner was a large circular mahogany table for eating, as well as a small kitchenette.

To the left was a stone staircase, which Draco followed up to the top. At the very top, which Draco presumed to be the fifth floor, were three doors. A green oak door with silver lining, a black one in the middle, and a red and gold lined door. He walked through the green and silver door into a large bedroom.

His bedroom was in varying shades of green, black, white and silver. He had a large comfortable four-poster bed like that in his other dormitory. Off in the back was a large walk-in closet. He also had a wardrobe and cabinet. His trunk lay at the foot of his head and his broom was in a case on the wall.

Draco placed his wand on his nightstand and wandered over to a black door set in the opposite wall of his wardrobe. He thrust it open and walked in. Granger was standing on the other side. This was obviously the bathroom, and both rooms lead to it.

The bathroom was sparkling clean and very large. There was a swimming pool sized bath in the middle, as well as two showers on either side of the bathroom. A toilet and tap completed the necessities. Two cupboards and a long counter were against another wall. Inside were soap, shampoo and towels. On top of the counter were make-up, gel, and hairbrushes as well as other products.

"It's pretty nice," Hermione commented. Draco scoffed.

"Yeah, if you're used to living in a run-down shack, I'd suppose so."

"Are you referring to my house or Ron's?"

"I didn't know the Weasleys owned a house," he said bitterly, heading back towards his room.

"You are so rude, honestly. First you bump into me and grab my ass and now you're being rude about my boyfriend," she complained, also heading towards her room.

"Wait. Boyfriend? You're dating carrot-top?" Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, Ron and I are dating. And I don't apreci-"

"Hahahahahaha. That's hilarious." And with that, he snapped the door shut, which drowned out the continuation of Hermione's speech.

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**A/n- Ok! Chapter two is up. I hope you enjoyed. Review if you wish, I'd appreciate any and all comments. **

**I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. By Friday, definitely. I'm in a writing mood. Probably because I'm in a people mood. **

**Also, my email is if you needed to know.**

**Krista, it's what's for breakfast D**


	3. A Day Of Firsts

**forA/n- Hopefully this was a quick enough update for everyone. I'm in a decently good writing mood, so I thought I'd start getting through this stuff. You see, I'm a very impatient writer, I like getting to the good stuff. If I had my way, I'd skip the beginning and get right to the romance-y part. But I like writing the mean stuff too actually. **

**Reviews are always good :**

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**Chapter 3- A Day of Firsts**

"Yeah, his room is right there Ronald."

"-Annoying you, of course?"

"Being a dick, like always."

This was the only part of the conversation Draco had managed to pick up from walking to Potions behind Potty, Mudblood and Weasel. He had noticed, of course, the hand holding of Weasley and Granger. This obviously complicated his plot. He hadn't counted on the bookworm having a romantic attraction to anybody.

He had already decided to abort step one of the plan, at least for the next week or so, while they both settled in. He didn't need the mudblood running to her friends every time he tried making his move, especially this early in phase one.

He entered the Potions room and took his normal seat in the back of the class next to Pansy and set up his cauldron. He read the directions on the board, heated up his flame, and began chopping and mixing ingredients. Pansy was flirting with him the whole time.

Finally, once her hand had resumed its normal position on his leg, he rounded on her. "Don't you and Blaise have a thing? Or is it you and Crabbe or Goyle now?"

Half the class was watching. Weasley was staring intently at them and whispering in Harry's ear. Hermione was ignoring the situation and was continuing to work on grinding up her dragon claw.

Pansy was taken aback a little. "Oh, Blaise and I are just a little fling." She giggled nervously.

"Well, I'm not going to be your little fling either. Maybe talk to after you're done sleeping with half the school." And with that, he picked up his cauldron and moved up a table next to Todd. He knew the change of heat on the flame would mess up his potion all together, so he just packed up and waited for class to end. Snape either didn't notice or didn't particularly care.

At the end of the class, Snape collected samples of everyone's potions for grading. "Draco. To my desk please."

Draco walked up the rows through the commotion of cleaning up and stopped at his professor's desk. "Yes sir?" he asked politely.

"I'll expect a potion sample from you tomorrow. You can come by tonight at 7 to complete this assignment. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir. I'll be here at seven o' clock sharp sir."

"Precisely. You may go." At that moment, the bell rang, and Draco rushed back to grab his bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he headed towards Charms, again behind the Golden Trio.

He followed them all the way to the Charms classroom, where Harry walked in, but Hermione and Ron stopped for a moment outside.

"Bye 'Mione. See you at lunch, alright?" he said quietly, leaning down to just barely brush his lips against hers. Hermione blushed but said goodbye and headed into the classroom.

"Hey Granger, hold up," Draco called, loud enough for Ron's retreating figure to hear. Ron stopped to watch Hermione and Draco's conversation.

"Yes, Malfoy?" she asked politely. "We are going to be late for class."

"I assure you this will quick. What time do you want to get together to do those time tables? I need to visit Snape at 7 to make up my potion."

"When you get back I suppose. When will that be?"

"Around 7:45 I'd expect. I'm sure you and Weasley here have a little catching up to do, don't you think? Just don't catch up in my bed, alright?" he said sarcastically, cackling on his way into class. Hermione huffed behind him and branched off to her seat next to Harry on the opposite side of the room as Draco.

Draco spent a very uneventful morning. After his confrontation with both Pansy and Hermione, he was left to doodle on scraps of parchment during the rest of his morning classes, all of which Hermione were in. It seemed Granger and Potter had signed up for all the same classes as him.

At lunch, Draco ate with Todd Nott instead of Blaise, who seemed to have heard about Draco and Pansy's argument and wasn't speaking to either of them. He was eating alone, while Pansy was chatting with her girlfriends at the other end of the table.

After a quick lunch, Draco headed back to his common room. He had a free afternoon until 4, where he would be having class with Professor McGonagle for Transfiguration for an hour. Until then, he planned on doing some of his Charms homework for the night. He knew he would have barely any time later to complete it, with dinner, Snape's detention and planning with Granger.

He set his bag down next to the couch and collapsed onto it. He used his wand to blaze up the fire in the grate, as it was already very drafty in the school. He pulled out his charms book, a quill, parchment, and ink. He began drafting an essay about simple blocking jinxes and hexes.

He was around halfway through his essay when Hermione and Ron Weasley walked in, Harry trailing behind them. They were all laughing obnoxiously at some joke Ron had told. When they spotted Draco, they all stopped laughing and pulled faces.

"Go upstairs and do your homework, we're going to be down here," Ron commanded. Draco laughed but didn't move. He added a few more sentences to his essay before placing it down on the table and looking at them.

"No," he replied simply. "You can have your threesome upstairs, thanks. This couch is quite nice and I do not feel like getting up." He began digging in his backpack for his sketchpad. He grabbed it along with his box of charcoals.

Draco shifted in his spot, still ignoring the three chatting teens, and aimed his view towards the fire. He began to sketch the outline and eventually the entire scene. Fifteen minutes later, he placed it on the table and yawned, stretching.

He packed up his Charms homework and started to flip his sketchbook closed, when Hermione's words caught him.

"You're talented you know. At drawing, I mean." She didn't say anything else, but instead stared at his drawing.

"Oh, thanks." He didn't really know what else to say. He packed away the book, his quill, ink, essay and finally his charcoals. Hermione was still in awe apparently, since she hadn't moved. Harry and Ron had gone off to explore her room and the bathroom.

"No, you really have talent. Where did you learn to draw like that?" she pressed.

"I don't know, I just started when I was little," he replied dryly, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, heading towards the door.

"Did you take lessons or…?" she went on.

"Listen, I just like to draw once and awhile, ok? Drop it." She looked taken aback. "See you in class," he added before leaving the common room.

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"Alright Draco. You're all set. You can go now," Snape finalized, putting a "A" down on the paper for Draco. He had completed his potion relatively quickly and still managed to scrape a good grade.

"Thanks Professor. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Draco headed out of the door. The castle was relatively quiet on his journey back to his common room. He hummed lightly to himself as he strutted up the stairs and let himself into his room. Hermione was resting on the couch.

Draco dropped his bag on the ground and chose an armchair and relaxed into it. He pulled out his headphones and put them on, blasting music into his ears as he started to complete his Charms essay.

After Charms he moved onto Transfiguration, finishing around 9. He and Hermione didn't speak once the whole night, but once they both finished, they began to work.

Draco brought out a roll of parchment and began sketching out an actual table design, while Hermione began figuring out the hours. They barely talked except for the occasional schedule question. After three hours, they had completed the tables for the year.

"Thank god. I'm wiped out," Hermione said, lying back on the couch.

"Mmm," Draco replied as he screwed on the cap to his ink bottle. He just left his books laying all over the floor, chair and table, and got up to go to his bed.

"Malfoy?" Draco sighed and looked over to the couch.

"Yes Granger?"

"I don't think I can move. Help me up."

"Are you delusional? I'm not touching you."

"You did last night."

"That was perfectly accidental Granger. I'm sure you know that."

"Right. Well just stop being an arse and help me up. I'm awfully tired."

"Oh, whatever." He walked over, grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up using brute strength. They stood awkwardly for a long moment, which seemed like hours, with Draco's hands resting on her waist. Finally, Hermione shook off the shock and backed up.

"Well, thanks. I'll just be going to bed then. Night," she said simply, and stepped up the staircase. He heard her door open and then close before he headed up for the night.

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After hours of tossing and turning in his bed, Draco finally gave up hope and rolled out of bed at 5:34 a.m. He jumped into the shower, waking himself up, and dragged his body down the stairs.

He was dressed is simple bottle green robes and sneakers; his hair was shaggy and long, down to his chin almost. He kept it in a choppy style, which was really working for him today. He pinned his Head Boy badge to the front of his robes.

Settling himself back into his armchair, he relit the smoldering flames from the previous night and gathered his books and materials. He stuffed them into his backpack and leaned it against the table. He then relaxed in his chair.

He had purposely left out his sketchbook and charcoals, and again began to draw. This time, he drew a quidditch scene from his imagination. By the end of the sketch, an hour later, it was very detailed.

The picture was mainly of him, in billowing seeker robes, with his hand outstretched about to clasp the snitch in his palm; Harry was swerving behind him, trying to beat him out of the race. Behind them, you could see the Quaffle being tackled out of the Gryffindors clutches by a Slytherin chaser. There was also quite a large crowd off in the distance, and the sky was a clear blue, with basically no wind.

At that moment, he heard the shower burst into life above him. Hermione was obviously taking a shower. He flipped the page and began to sketch out something else. By the time he was done, Hermione was heading down the stairs, yawning.

Draco looked down at his drawing. Without realizing it, he had drawn what looked to be Hermione, kneeling on the ground and writing on a table, just as she had been last night. Draco was a bit embarrassed that he had drawn this unexpectedly. Of course, it could be any other girl. Sure, sure, this drawing didn't look that much like her. It could be anyone at all.

"What'd you draw now?" Hermione asked. Draco quickly shut the book and stuffed it into his bag.

"Nothing," he said quietly, zipping up the bag before she got ideas of snatching it. "None of your business, is it Granger?"

"You know, we're going to be living together for 9 months. The least you could do is be civil. And maybe we should use first names," she snapped at him, and he smirked.

"Alright then, _Hermione_," he replied. Hermione was going to easily fall right into his trap. "But your weasel boyfriend is going to throw a fit if you call me Draco."

Hermione laughed and began to pack up her things as well. "Well, don't let him hear you then," she answered, flashing him a smile. She paused thoughtfully, and then said, "So what were you drawing?"

Draco paused, and then grabbed his book, flipping to his quidditch scene. "Just something that hit my head this morning. I couldn't sleep."

Hermione stared for a moment, then looked away to continue packing up her parchment. She was rolling a long essay up into a tight scroll. She stuffed it into her backpack along with her Charms book and Transfiguration questions.

"Yeah, I heard you take a shower this morning. What was up?" she paused, and then said, "Are you alright Draco?"

Draco looked at her, then, looking away, shook his head. "I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep I guess."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Hermione went to answer it, and Ron and Harry stepped into the room. Draco sighed, grabbed his bag and walked by them, out of the door. He caught Hermione's reassuring smile on the way out.

Walking down to breakfast, Draco couldn't help but smirk to himself. Second day back, and already the plan was in motion. It seemed that this was going to go more smoothly than Draco had originally projected. Something was, unfortunately, nagging at him in the back of his head and the pit of stomach; a feeling he couldn't place.

He shrugged it off; he surely wasn't feeling guilty or anything. No, he decided, that wasn't true. He was just hungry. And tired. Yes, that was it. He hadn't slept, that was all. And, as if to confirm his assumption, his stomach growled anxiously. Draco smiled to himself.

Upon entering the Great Hall, he realized he was more than just part of the early crowd. He had never been this early to any meal before. Dumbledore himself was still eating, chatting eagerly to a very grumpy looking Professor Snape, who had bags under his eyes. He did not look very happy to be awake at this hour. Draco caught his eye before taking a seat at the Slytherin table and piling his plate with eggs, bacon and toast.

After taking a long draught of pumpkin juice, he settled himself in and dug into his pile of eggs. Between bites he managed to take gigantic swigs of juice and small bites of bacon or toast, depending on which he craved. By the time Pansy and Blaise arrived, holding hands, Draco had finished his first plate and had moved into a second helping of eggs. He was on his third goblet of pumpkin juice.

At the end of breakfast, he got up with Todd Nott and headed towards Herbology. Walking down the green sloping lawns to the greenhouses, they chatted eagerly about the coming quidditch season. Behind him, he heard a shout of laughter. He turned around to see Harry Potter laughing next to Ron.

"You think you have a shot at the cup? Get a life mate, Gryffindor always wins," Harry said confidently. Ron was shaking his head in agreement.

"Whatever. Hi Hermione," he greeted, flashing her the rare Draco Malfoy smile, and then turned back around and headed into greenhouse three, where Professor Sprout was leading them into. Hermione caught up and flashed him a look, greeting him nonetheless. She then slowed down to catch back up with Ron.

Professor Sprout had them line up in the back of the greenhouse and counted them off, pairing them off. Nott ended up with Ron, which was an unfortunate case for him, but Draco laughed. For a moment, Draco thought he would end up with Potter, but Pansy ended up with him. Draco got paired with Hermione, which he didn't complain about.

"Hello Hermione. I guess we'll be working together. How pleasant, like I don't see you enough," he said sarcastically, and she gave him a dirty look.

"Don't get too excited Draco, we all know what happens when boys get excited," she retorted evilly.

"And what would you know about that, Hermione?" he shot back, and Hermione looked away, blushing. She muttered something and began working. Draco stared at her.

"What?" she asked angrily, shoving the plant into the pot a bit more viciously than necessary. Draco looked taken aback and muttered an apology before helping her.

Draco happened to reach for the trowel just as Hermione did, and their hands touched for a split second before Hermione pulled back. "Sorry," she said, laughing nervously. Draco picked up the trowel to fix the plant.

Draco placed it back, reaching back to the plant with his gloved hands, and he and Hermione went to straighten the same root at the same time. Their hands landed together once again. This time, Hermione froze and looked into Draco's eyes, and he looked back.

"Oops," Draco said softly. "Again," he said, laughing nervously this time. He backed his hand away again. He could have sworn he saw Hermione reach for his hand while he moved away, but when he blinked she was already back to working with their plant.

The rest of the class flew by. Draco awaited the end anxiously, so he could get away from Hermione. Things were now getting awkward. Draco didn't like the feeling he got around Hermione anymore. This definitely wasn't good. He was starting to feel guilty for the dare.

At the end of class, Draco was the first to leave. He rushed out of the door and into the cold. He wrapped his robes around him tightly and battled against the wind as he made his way up to the castle.

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It was six o' clock and Draco was already done his homework. He wished to stretch his legs. Looking out of the window, he realized there was easily another hour of light left. He jogged up the moldy stairs and grabbed his broom out of the case on the wall and ran back downstairs.

Opening the door, he came face to face with Hermione. Within seconds, they were more than face to face. They were lip to lip. Hermione had smashed right into him, and Draco, who had been leaning down slightly, had made contact with her lips.

For a moment, they both were confused. After an awkward five second kiss, Draco pulled away. They both gave each other a weird look, and Draco brushed past her and practically ran out of the door and down the stairs to the entry hall. He flew out of the doors and immediately got on his broom.

He flew around the castle for what seemed like hours. It was certainly a long time, as it was dark out and the sky was littered with stars by the time he landed and headed inside. He was beyond freezing by now. He had been wearing just robes and it had been windy all day long.

He headed into straight into the Great Hall, sitting at the Slytherin table with barely anyone left. It was already 8 o clock at least, and dinner was finishing up. He swallowed down some chicken and vegetables quickly before heading up to take a shower.

Upon entering the room, he noticed it was oddly quiet. He realized Hermione wasn't inside the common room or in the bathroom. He opened her door slowly and noticed she was lying on her bed, facing the opposite direction, reading a book.

Draco tried to slowly edge the door closed, but Hermione apparently had heard him because she whipped around to look at him. She gave him the nastiest look and then put the book down and looked like she was getting ready to shout. She got up and pulled the door open.

For a moment Draco thought she was going to kiss him again, but he was wrong. She just looked at him, and then quietly said, "Maybe we should talk."

Draco looked at her weirdly then replied, "About?" Hermione gave him an annoyed look.

"Maybe about what happened earlier?"

"Oh, how you attacked me with your lips?"

"I did not attack you. _You _ran into _me_."

"I did not. I clearly opened the door. You were not paying attention to where you were going Granger."

"Oh, so were back to last names, huh? Fine then, Malfoy, it was _both_ of our faults. Needless to say-"

"You enjoyed it."

"No I did not. I was going to say-"

"Don't deny that you want me."

"I do not want any such thing. You are ridiculous and over cocky."

"You'd be cocky too if you had what I have in my p-"

"Stop it. That wasn't a reference to anything dirty."

"Whatever you say Hermione. You know you'd love to know if the rumors about me are true."

"Rumors? I don't know of any rumors regarding you that I could possibly want to find out about."

"Oh yes, rumors. It seems that I can do things in bed very well, other than sleeping."

"Well, hopefully. You don't seem to sleep very well, do you Draco?"

"Very funny."

"Exactly. So, I hope you will forget about that…kiss, or whatever it was. Obviously, it doesn't leave this room."

"So you aren't telling ickle Ronnikins?"

"Of course not, why would I?" she replied snappily.

"Well, you cheated on him."

"It was accidental. It doesn't count. Besides, he'd make me move out of here or something. He'd overreact. It obviously didn't mean anything."

"I suppose you're right. Well, I'm off to take a shower." And with that, he walked out of the door. Hermione slammed it behind him.

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**A/n- Yay! Hermione/Draco action unfolding! Do you guys think the plot is moving too quickly or not quickle enough? Let me know.**

**Reviews!!!!**

**Krista.**


	4. Rebel

**A/n- Yo, what's crackin? Uhm, no. Hey I'm back. Real quick, just wanted to say thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 3! I got a good amount so keep em coming, it makes me feel special!**

**Also thanks to everyone who commented on the plot. **

**Onto the fiction!**

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**Chapter 4- Rebel**

Draco felt like the rest of the week flew by. Surprisingly enough, Hermione had kept to her word. She told no one about what had happened in the common room that night. Draco was grateful, considering he didn't want Potter and Weasley on his back about it. It was the last thing he needed right now.

On top of his regular classes, he had his Head duties and quidditch to worry about. Homework was very intense now, at it was his N.E.W.T year, and the classes themselves were difficult as well.

Saturday morning at breakfast, Draco stood up to address his fellow Slytherin classmates.

"Oy! You lot! Shut it!" he screamed, quieting down not only his table but also the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Gryffindor remained as chatty as ever, pretending he did not exist.

"Listen up. Quidditch tryouts are today at two o clock. Don't be late. If you want to try out, just show up. We have all chaser positions open as well as Keeper position. I'm playing Seeker, and Crabbe and Goyle are playing beater. So, if you wanna play, come down and try out." He sat down.

Todd was sitting next to him as usual. The two boys had started getting a bit closer this year; rather than Draco and Blaise hanging out, Draco hung out with Nott whenever he had spare time, which wasn't very often.

"I think I'm going to come down for tryouts," Nott said while chewing on some eggs.

"Good idea," Draco said, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. "Listen, I gotta run. I have to do some planning thing of events with Granger. I'll see you at the pitch."

Draco pushed his plate away from him, took a long, draining sip of pumpkin juice, and stood up. Hermione saw him stand and walked over, and they headed upstairs.

"So, Hermione, what do we have to do here?" Draco asked. Draco expected they would work in their dorms, but Hermione lead him towards the grounds outside.

"I figured we could start working on planning the Halloween dance. Gryffindor seems really excited about the prospect of a costume dance. Did you talk to the Slytherins about it?" she asked eagerly. She was carrying a roll of parchment, ink and two quills.

"No," Draco scoffed, laughing. "Are you serious? They don't care as long as the punch bowl is spiked."

"Well, it won't be. I'll make sure of that," she said matter-of-factly. Draco gave her a look as they opened the doors and a fresh blast of fall air hit them. Draco was surprised to feel warm air wash over him, as opposed to cold air as it was usually.

They both passed over the grounds and settled by the lake, underneath the shade given by a big oak tree. Hermione unrolled the parchment on a flat stone and unscrewed the cap to the ink bottle. She handed over a quill to Draco, and then dipped her own in ink.

She poised the quill over the paper, and then scribbled a title to the top of the parchment. Draco peered over and read 'Halloween Ball' neatly written.

"I see. Well, what do we have to decide?" Draco asked impatiently. He glanced at his watch, which told him it was just past 10. He was very anxious to go to the pitch and just fly around.

"Costumes or no costumes?" Hermione asked, ready to write. "I want costumes. I think it would be entertaining. Or at least little masks."

"Uhm, well I think we should have costumes," Draco decided, and Hermione excitedly scribbled down 'costumes' underneath the header.

"Ok then, good. How about, what do you think for food? A feast beforehand, or after? Or during? Or do you think just little snacks? Or a buffet, so they can go whenever they want?" Hermione said all of this very quickly.

Draco, who was still recovering from her fast speech, had a look of amusement on his face. He didn't reply at once, just watched Hermione's face. She seemed very excited. Just as Draco was about to answer, Harry and Ron called out to Hermione from the top of the sloping lawns, and began heading over.

Draco groaned, and Hermione shot him a very nasty look. She turned back to Harry and Ron, who had finally reached their spot, and were out of breath.

"What's up Hermione? How goes the ball preparations?" Ron asked, swooping down and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. Draco got an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he wanted to punch Ron. Not that this was different from any other time, but it was more pronounced this time. Draco clenched his fists together and stared at Ron.

"What's wrong with ferret boy?" Harry interjected, looking at Draco oddly. Draco went to stand up, but Hermione pulled him back down onto the grass.

"Harry, be nice. And the preparations are fine, so we're all set. Go play some quidditch, we'll be done shortly." She smiled at Ron, who leaned down for another kiss. Hermione backed up and whispered something in Ron's ear.

Ron shrugged and he and Harry jogged away towards the pitch. Hermione shook her head and looked down at the parchment, apparently waiting for Draco's answer.

"Oh! Right! Answer! Uhm, buffet, I think. Everyone is hungry at different times, you know." Hermione wrote it down and then looked at him. "What?" he asked impatiently.

"What was that with Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked angrily. Draco shot her a bemused expression. He raised his eyebrows.

"How was that possibly my fault?"

"How wasn't it, you were standing up to fight Harry!"

"Or Ron," he mumbled. Hermione gave him an awkward look, but turned to look at the lake.

"Something you want to tell me?" Hermione asked.

"No," Draco muttered, cracking his knuckles nervously.

"Are you positive?"

"I'm good Granger, thanks."

Hermione didn't ask any more questions about it, and they finished the preparations, both of them in a bad mood. Draco got up quickly and rushed away.

He wanted to lie down, but he also wanted to fly. He settled on flying, since he needed to be at the pitch in a few hours time for tryouts anyways. He grabbed his Firebolt and headed back down to the pitch. There were a few Gryffindors lingering around, tryouts had probably just finished for the Gryffindors.

Draco mounted his broom and headed into the sky. He soared at a decent pace, not paying attention to his route. He let the wind sift through his shaggy blonde hair, letting it play a dance on his face softly. He began to think, while he barely controlled his broom.

He couldn't possibly…no. The mere thought of it was… well crazy. Suicidal perhaps. No, there was no way he…could he? Was it so bad? There was something about… no, stop.

There was no way he liked Hermione Granger. Absolutely not. That feeling as not jealousy, it was disgust. Yes, disgust. Watching Granger and Weasley kissing is no walk in the park. Or maybe, anger. Watching such a pretty…did he just call her pretty? No, such a smart…what was he doing?

He did not like Hermione Granger. No way, not in a million years. He'd rather cut his wand in half. Well, maybe not his wand. His broom? No. Well, he still didn't have feelings for her. That was preposterous. It was completely insane to even worry about this.

Draco realized he was flying over the lake. He turned around and headed back towards the pitch. He glanced at his watch, noting the time, which was only 1:35. He paid more attention to the internal battle raging inside of his brain.

He honestly didn't like Hermione. He didn't like anyone at all. He never did. He just shagged girls and then dumped them. Like Pansy. And Shana. And that other girl in Ravenclaw with the…who was he kidding.

He liked Hermione. It was inevitable. In the end, he was sure this would have happened. He needed to fall for someone eventually. The problem was, he needed to complete this dare. Technically, he could complete the shag part. The dump, maybe, but by then, who knows how attached he'd be.

He needed to get these thoughts out of his mind. He could never and would never date Granger. Ever in his life. Nope…never.

He liked Hermione Granger. He liked Hermione Granger. He damn well liked Hermione Granger.

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After a very tiring set of quidditch tryouts, Draco dragged himself up the marble staircase and into his common room, where he collapsed into an armchair. He was beyond exhausted, both mentally and physically.

It was still too early for dinner, so Draco decided to take a shower. He headed upstairs to his room, knocked on the bathroom door, and stepped in.

At first, he thought Hermione was taking a bath. Then he realized she was actually swimming, and did indeed have clothes on. How unfortunate. But, still, the sight amused him.

"Hello Hermione," he said formally, and she cast him a glance. She swam over to the edge and pulled herself out of the water. It looked quite warm.

"Draco," she said, nodding, and reached for a towel.

"Hey! Where you going so fast?" Draco asked, grabbing the towel from her. She tugged it at.

"I was just going for a swim. You can take a shower or something now," she replied cautiously, and gave a tug at the towel. Draco pulled it back.

"Come for a swim or something with me."

"No." She tugged at the towel.

"C'mon. I'm not so bad."

"I'd suppose not." She let go of the towel. Draco smiled triumphantly and put the towel back into the cupboard. He stripped right down to his boxers. Smirking he looked up.

He caught Hermione staring at his smooth, pale skin. He eyes washed over his abs, broad shoulders and long legs. He had a seeker's body; perfectly built, and in shape, but not too muscular. He still needed to be light so he could be quick on his broom.

"Taking it all in Hermione?" he suggested, cocking his eyebrow. She looked away, blushing.

"Of course not," she huffed angrily. Draco's eyes followed from her head, down past her chest, to her stomach, thighs, legs, and back up, stopping at her chest again.

"Well, I certainly have been," he said, winking. Hermione gave him a half smile. Draco headed towards the pool, and gave Hermione's ass a little smack before diving into the clear blue water.

Draco swam around underwater for a few moments before surfacing. Hermione was sitting in the shallow end, grumpy.

Draco laughed and ducked underwater again, coming up right behind her. She turned around and received a splash of water in the face.

"Ah! You're totally going to get it Draco Malfoy!" she shrieked, splashing water at him. Back and forth, they thrashed the water at each other until Draco seized Hermione by the waist and tossed her head first into the deep end.

She came up, spitting water and looking angry. "Bastard!" she pouted, crossing her arms. Draco swam over, grabbing her again, and launching her back into the shallower point of the pool.

"That's it!" she said, stomping through the water to him. She stepped right up to him and stopped, realizing how close she was to him. Her mouth was halfway open in awe of his being close to his skin.

She looked up at Draco, whose eyes were fixed onto hers. Before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning down and kissing her. She melted into the kiss; she didn't pull away or struggle or anything. He snaked him arm around her waist, pulling her into his body, and her hand found its way onto his stomach.

Draco licked her bottom lip, and her mouth opened slowly, letting his tongue slide onto hers. They enjoyed a passionate snog, until Draco had to push for more. His hand moved from his side to her stomach and edged its way up, ending on her breast.

Hermione permitted this until he tried to maneuver it into her bathing suit. At that moment, she grabbed his hand and shoved it to his side, breaking their kiss.

"Damn it…" she cursed, knocking herself on the head. Draco looked quite pleased with himself. "Stop looking so triumphant you big head. That meant nothing."

"Don't deny you liked it," he countered smoothly. Hermione pulled herself out of the pool.

"That's hardly the point," she retorted, taking a towel out of the cupboard and covered herself with it.

"Aww, don't ruin my fun."

"What fun? That's all the fun you're getting."

"What? I was just getting started. You wouldn't believe the types of things I can do with this body."

"That's very nice. Find someone else do those things with," she said matter-of-factly, turning on her heel and heading towards her bedroom door.

"So, now you really cheated. We both know that wasn't an accident." Hermione stopped, her hand inches from the doorknob.

"Well…" she said, then trailed off. She cleared her throat and opened the door, disappearing into her room.

"Well what?" he yelled through the door. He got up, snatched a towel and draped it over his shoulders. "Well what Hermione?" she said, catching the door before it closed.

"This is… not happening," she said, while shaking her head. Draco spun her around and looked into her eyes, bringing the pit of his stomach further down. He wanted to swoop down, give her another kiss, and show her how it's done. But he knew she wouldn't permit it.

"No. I think it is happening," Draco corrected. Hermione seemed to be in deep thought.

"Well. Obviously, this can't continue happening. Maybe I should…" but Draco's lips cut her off. This time, their tongues connected almost instantaneously. Draco slowly led her back onto her bed. She tripped over the edge, lying down, and Draco moved her into the center before lying on top of her.

Their tongues clashed and meshed together, Draco's hormones getting the best of him. Apparently Hermione was apparently in the same type of situation, because she seemed to have forgotten about Ron.

Hermione's hand reached for his hair and she ran her hands through the silky blonde strands. Draco caressed her stomach, making his way back to her chest. She didn't object to his sneaking inside of her bathing suit this time.

Draco surely felt they would be caught. In the back of his head, he had this odd feeling.

"Mmm," she softly moaned as he began to kiss her neck. "Stop…" she murmured quietly, not using force.

"Why? I don't think you want me to," he said cockily, kissing her law line back to her lips.

"I can't do this to Ron…" she said slowly, but flipped him underneath her nonetheless, kissing him all the same.

"Then dump him," Draco found himself muttering back to her softly, sending her another wave of quick kisses. His hands found the string tying her bathing suit top on. He began to undo the knot when Hermione rolled him over.

"Don't do that," she complained. Draco sighed, but returned his hands to her front and cupped her face.

"Break up with him Hermione," he almost pleaded. Pleaded? Malfoy's don't plead.

Hermione seemed to think about it for a second. "Alright." She went back to kissing him.

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**A/n- Sorry the chapter took a little longer than I projected. There were some personal issues I had to work out… Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. **

**Drop a little review. If you like or don't. I don't mind criticism, as long as you provide explanation. **

**Thanks, Krista.**


	5. What You Want

**A/n- I know its been very long since I updated! 3 months…**

**Anyways, back to working on this for the summer. Terribly sorry to all my loyal readers.**

**Any and all reviews are welcome. Thank you for patiently waiting. **

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Chapter 5- What You Want

Two weeks flew by and Draco found himself starting to practice Quidditch in the early days of October. It was chillier, and the wind blew harder than ever. It seemed that Hogwarts was going to receive winter a little earlier this year.

Slytherin's first quidditch match was set to be in the first week of November, so Draco had his team working as hard as ever. They were opening against Hufflepuff, which was no match for Slytherin either way, but Draco wouldn't let his team slack off. They would be playing Gryffindor in February, where the conditions would be ten times worse.

"Ok team! Gather 'round," Draco yelled, sending sparks up with his wand to catch the attention of his players. They flew into a tight knit circle in mid-air, slightly breathless.

"Ok. Hufflepuff is no match for us this year. But we need to keep our heads in the game. Gryffindor will be looking for any weaknesses in this match. The most important thing is, don't use the new moves we've been practicing. No one has seen them and I don't want Gryffindor getting any advantages. Let's perfect those and save them for the Gryffindor match."

His team members nodded in agreement and cheered. Draco smirked and let go of the snitch that was clenched in his fist. "Alright. I'll catch it one more time and then we're done for the night."

His team separated; the chasers went to pass around the quaffle and to practice shoot techniques, the keeper went to defend the hoops, and both beaters played a game of beat and dodge with the bludgers. Draco counted a quick 30 seconds and then sped off to catch the snitch.

A half-hour later, Draco was trudging up the stairs to his dorms, soaked to the bone because it had begun raining halfway through his search for the snitch, lengthening their practice while he sought after the winged ball.

He pushed open the door and dropped his broom on the ground. He flung off his cloak, which had done almost nothing against the sheets of ice cold rain, and hurried across the room. His toes squished around in his shoes as he climbed the stairs. He threw open his door, and Hermione was sitting on his bed.

"What do you want?" he asked angrily, not happy to see her. Since the bedroom scene two weeks ago, they had barely spoken. Apparently Hermione had been too caught up in the moment and hadn't kept her word about Ron.

"I was just wondering where you were. Merlin, Draco," she shot back. Draco untied his sneakers and used a drying spell to clear them of water. He peeled off his socks, which were practically part of his skin now. He tossed his jacket lightly onto the floor, which Hermione looked at in disgust.

"I see you take care of the place," she joked lightly. Draco gave her a look, and kicked the jacket more to the side of his room.

"I'm freezing. I don't care about my bedroom right now Ms. Know-it-all," he snapped. Hermione looked taken aback but didn't say anything. Instead, she looked at the floor.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I think I led you on a little."

"You think?" he asked hotly. He stormed into the bathroom and Hermione followed. He started the shower and headed across the bathroom and grabbed a white, fluffy towel.

"Listen, Draco. It's not you really…"

"Don't say it's you. You're pathetic." He checked the temperature of the water.

"Well it is me. You're a good guy and everything but I just don't see you like that. Well, I don't want to see you that way. Even if I do."

Draco gave her a confused look but said nothing. He was staring at the shower.

"So I'm sorry," she finished lamely, and turned to walk away. His arm caught her, turning to face her slowly.

"I… Hermione, you should have just told me to get away and I would have."

"But I didn't want you too. It's just…Ron…"

"What about Ron?"

"He's good to me and he loves me very much."

"And you love him back?"

"Well. I… well…"

"Right. Seems like you have to figure out some stuff of your own."

Draco then led her to her bedroom door, and closed it slowly. He leaned against the door, and he could feel her weight lean against it too. He heard her sigh slowly, almost pitifully, and then he walked away towards the steamy heat of the shower.

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A few days later, Draco and Hermione sat solemnly in the common room, surrounded by books and parchment. Draco was scribbling down answers for Transfiguration furiously, trying to make good use of his hour break session before double Herbology. Hermione was opposite him on a pouf, deeply immersed in her Charms book. He could see her eyes whizzing across the pages. Every so often she would take notes with the quill that was held by her teeth.

Draco looked up at her, sighed, and pushed away his homework, completed. He grabbed his sketchbook from the coffee table and began to draw with black charcoal. He glanced up, getting Hermione's position in his mind, and copied what he saw onto the paper.

"Are you drawing me?" she asked angrily, closing the book and setting it down against the chair leg. Draco ignored her comment, trying to get her eyes right. There was a weird glare coming from the window, and he couldn't seem to master it.

"Could you move a little to the left? I can't get your eyes right in the sun like that," he said, motioning for her to go left. She gave a weird expression but obliged. Then she sat still, looking around, bored.

Draco finished her eyes and moved onto her nose, mouth, and hair. All in all, he thought it looked pretty decent.

"Thanks," he said, choosing a different charcoal and began drawing her body. "Can you try to sit really still for like a minute? I want to get this right."

"Why are you drawing me, exactly?" she wondered aloud, and Draco shrugged.

"You're a good subject matter. See, you're ever changing. There's something about drawing people, you know? They never look exactly alike. There's always a facial feature different, or a mood change, or a curiously weird set of clothing on them. People are the greatest thing to draw, because it's like…a new challenge. Granted, you're always a challenge. But you're around so much, it's easy to see the differences in you than, let's say, any other Hogwarts kid. So I draw you."

Hermione smiled at him, and shifted on the chair nervously.

"You moved," he exclaimed, getting up.

"That was really deep Draco," she said quietly as he moved closer.

"Yeah, whatever. Here, sit like this," he explained, moving her shoulders to a specific angle. His hands gracefully showed her how to put her legs, good for drawing, and right in the light.

"Now, look at me," he said, backing away slightly. She turned her head towards him and he smiled and gave her the thumbs up. "Good. Now two minutes, and then you can leave."

Quickly, he sketched details into the portrait of her, finishing up.

"Okay, you can go now if you want," he said, coloring in the picture lightly with his pencils. She wandered over and glanced over his shoulder, gasping.

"Woah, you drew that?" she said, gaping.

"Yeah, you saw me do it."

"You're amazing… and a little over exaggerating," she said, pointing to her chest in the drawing.

"I don't think so," he replied, flipping the book closed and placing each pencil back into it's case neatly. He threw the book onto the table and packed up his books into his bag, capping his ink and shoving that, as well as parchment and a quill, into his bag after it.

"I think you put a little imagination into your drawings," she said, flipping through the book. He snatched it from her hand, looking away to hide the red creeping onto his face.

"Don't be so ridiculous. You look that good," he said dryly, shoving it into his backpack.

"What, in real life, or your dreams?" she replied cockily. He rounded on her and stared down to her a good 6 inches. She looked away and began to pack up her things too.

"I'm sorry," she said, before hurrying out of the common room into the bustling hallway. Draco collapsed back onto the couch, deciding he wasn't really up for double Herbology. He knew he shouldn't skip class, but he just couldn't face it right now.

Climbing the flight of stairs up to his room, he contemplated going out for a fly on his broom. But, he decided, someone would notice he wasn't in class, especially since Herbology was outside near the quidditch pitch. If he at least stayed in his room, he could feign sickness if necessary.

He turned towards the bathroom, and started the shower. He figured he could take a nice long shower, and then finish up any homework early for the night, leaving time for possible make-up work. He'd head down to dinner early too, since he was already starving.

He jumped in the steamy shower, and just allowed the pellets of water to soak him thoroughly. He washed his shaggy blonde hair as well as his body, and eventually stepped out of the shower. The mirrors were all clouded up from the shower steam. He crossed the tile and grabbed a beige towel from the stack, and wrapped himself in it.

He dried himself off and tossed the towel carelessly onto the ground, finally stepping into his room. It was remarkably colder in his room, and Draco shivered from the icy air on his skin. He grabbed a pair of silver boxers, jeans, and a tight green shirt. Pulling on his clothes, he jogged back down the stairs into the common room, where he immediately lit a fire in the grate.

Even simply hearing the crackling flames warmed him up. He settled onto the couch, plugged his headphones into his ears, and turned up the music. Draco pulled over his backpack, all filled and ready to go, and grabbed his Charms book.

He opened to page 345 and began reading the text, preparing himself for the quiz on the material tomorrow. It was all simplistic and Draco knew most of it, but he needed to review in order to get a good grade. Following Hermione's earlier guidelines, he took notes on another important, to look over quickly before the test.

The time seemed to fly by, and by the time Hermione came storming into the common room, soaking wet, Draco noticed, he had just completed his reading and notes.

"Where the hell were you?" she screamed angrily, throwing her book bag onto the ground, and flinging her wet cloak near the fire to dry it. Draco looked innocently at her and smiled.

"I fancied a shower," he replied simply, closing his book with a snap and stuffing back into his bag, which he kicked away from him.

"You fancied a shower! How very womanly of you," Hermione spat. "Because of you, I had to do the entire project by myself, considering you were my partner. And, you get full marks for it, too."

"How'd you manage to get me full marks?" Draco asked, confused.

"I lied for your sorry ass. I said you were feeling ill," she said, calming down enough to look at him without staring daggers.

"Oh. Thanks."

"Yeah. And I dumped Ron." She said this so casually Draco could have sworn she was talking about homework or a quidditch game. He shook his head and stared at her.

"You did what?"

"I broke up with Ron."

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I thought about what you said. He loves me, yeah, but I don't feel the same way. I mean, I thought I did. But it was just a childhood crush, and it wasn't what I wanted."

"Then what do you want?"

"I don't know, you?"

"Me?"

"You."

"Why would you want me?" he asked nervously. He didn't really want this.

Hermione was silent, and then looked away. "You're…unpredictable. I like about you," she answered finally.

Draco didn't respond at all, but rather chose to study the carpet pattern. He wasn't sure what to do about this. I mean, the plan, this would do well for the dare at least. But, with his feelings in account, would we want to break up with her when the time came?

"I like you too…" he said very slowly. He stood up gradually, and headed towards the door. Hermione's hand stopped him, and twisted him around.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him, and looked into his eyes. The look on her face drove him crazy inside, and he wanted nothing more than to lead her straight back to the couch. But he needed to be patient.

"I'm going to go to dinner," he said, and right on cue, his stomach growled. He stepped around her and headed towards the black door.

"I meant about us," she shot at his retreating figure.

"We can talk about this later, like when I'm fed," he called over his shoulder, and disappeared into the corridor.

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"Ron looked a bit grumpy at dinner tonight, don't you agree?" Draco asked slyly, and Hermione gave him a look back.

"He won't even talk to me. It's a complete disaster."

"Well, I'd expect that from a boy who has feelings."

"Oh, so you don't have feelings?" she accused him, and Draco dropped his gaze.

"I meant, he shows them. Jeeze, woman, don't bite," he responded.

"Whatever. Sometimes it's a good thing to show your feelings," she finally replied back, and got off of the chair she was sitting in.

"Come here," he demanded, and she wandered over to Draco, plopping herself on the couch next to him. She turned to face him, her expression annoyed.

He placed his right hand onto her left; playing with her fingers gently, and gave her a rare Draco Malfoy smile. She smiled back, and Draco guided her chin towards him with his left hand. Leaning in, he kissed her slowly and gently.

Pulling away, she looked at him for a moment, and then got up and walked away. Draco watched her walk away and then got up, following her up the stairs. He stopped outside of her room, where she had just entered.

"Draco, I need time, alright?"

"Time, yeah. Alright."

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**A/n- End of chapter 5. Again, sorry for the 3 months break . **

**Reviews please? D**

**Pce, Krista**


	6. What's Wrong With That?

**A/n- Chapter 6, check it outtt. Reviews are sweet.**

**Sidenote. Just finished Deathly Hallows on july 21. It was a-fucking-mazing, excuse my French. : I read it in ten hours straight. **

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Chapter 6- What's Wrong With That?

October 28th was the date written on the board in Snape's Potions classroom. Draco sighed, looking over towards Hermione. Things really hadn't gone anywhere whatsoever. If anything, they'd backtracked a little. She was still talking to Ron and Harry like everything was normal.

Hermione turned around and shot him a look, then a quick little smile, and the swiveled back around to face Harry, who was telling a story about some quidditch practice. Draco looked towards Pansy next to him, and she batted her eyelashes at him. Draco snorted and continued his potion.

"Hey Drakey," Pansy cooed into his ear, her hand playing with his locks of hair. He pushed her hands away and gave her a disgusted look.

"First of all, never call me Drakey. I thought we went over this. And second of all, my hair is off limits to you."

"Someone's grumpy," she pouted. Draco gazed over to Hermione, who was watching the argument intensely, Harry and Ron behind her sniggering.

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern though," he replied, and began to pour out a sample of his potion to be handed in.

"Maybe you aren't getting enough, if you know what I mean?" Pansy suggested, and Draco mocked throwing up into his hand. By now, Harry and Ron were doubled up in silent fits of laughter, and Hermione was smiling innocently towards him. He chucked her the finger.

"I'm getting enough Pansy, don't you worry."

By that time, Snape had discovered the Gryffindor boys laughing and was standing at the front of the room with an extremely unhappy look upon his face.

"Settle down," he said menacingly. "10 points from Gryffindor."

"Oh come on!" Harry exclaimed. "Those two other there are bickering like it's Jerry Springer!"

Snape gave him an odd look, and swooped upon him. "I'm not exactly sure what Jerry Springer is, Potter, but it has gotten you a detention. My office, tonight, at 7 please."

Harry said nothing and sat down in his seat quietly, and finished his potion in silence, giving Snape the occasional Potter stare.

Draco crossed the room and handed his vial to Snape, and turned on his heel and headed back to his seat. Hermione walked by him, and his fingers brushed past hers, and she turned to smile before looking away. Draco sat back in his seat, and Pansy gave him a strange look.

"Granger?" she whispered hurriedly in his ear, and Draco smirked before responding.

"Plan is in motion," he lied through his teeth. Grabbing his bag, he stood up, and just as he started heading towards the door, the bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. He heard Snape barking directions to the remaining students, but Draco put his head down and fought against the swarming crowd and up to his dorm.

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After dinner, Hermione was absent from the common room for most of the night, so Draco was left alone. He knew he should be working on his essay for Arithmancy, which was due the next day, and he hadn't even started, but he was too busy zoning out. He was positive Hermione was in the library working on it, unless she had escaped his presence for a night with the Gryffindor golden boys.

Packing up his things for Arithmancy, he headed towards the library. It was only 7 'o clock, plenty of time for him to finish this essay with the proper amount of concentration.

"Oy, get out of there!" Draco scolded two young Gryffindors, trying to force entry into a locked classroom.

"Why don't you-" one of the boys responded, but then stopped, eyeing his Head Boy badge. Both of them began to run in the opposite direction. Using a simple trip jinx, both of the boys fell to the ground with a thump.

"10 points from Gryffindor," he said proudly. "Each," he finished, leaving their mouths gaping. "Now, get off to your tower before I have to take 50."

The two boys got up and ran down the hallway, eyes bugged open and probably scared out of their wits. Draco smirked and took a shortcut through a few tapestries, and came out right in front of the library. Looking around quickly, he pushed open the doors and stepped in.

It was freezing in the library, more so than the rest of the school, and Draco was forced to wrap his robes around him closer. He peered around the obvious tables, searching for Hermione anywhere. After deciding she wasn't in the open, he began to prowl along the back shelves and tables, trying to seek her out.

"Damn it, where the hell is she!" he cursed under his breath, and Madam Pince dove out of nowhere, glancing at his reprovingly.

"Shhh!" she commanded, and stalked back into the shadows of musty old volumes of books. Draco gave her a shifty look that she couldn't see, and then continued to search for Hermione in the rows of books.

Finally, he spotted her, just when he was about to give up. Creeping up behind her, he put his hand over her eyes and pulled her slowly away from the bookshelf. She dropped a heavy book that she had been flipping through, and it made a thump. Not wanting to attract attention from Pince, he led her away quietly, her whispered complaints echoing in the shelves.

"Let me go, Ron!" she struggled, and Draco smirked, knowing her had her fooled.

"It's not Ron," he said quietly into her ear, and she finally got out of his grasp and rounded on him, an angry expression on her features. But, when she saw him, she softened and laughed.

"Very funny Draco," Hermione said, clearly quite annoyed but laughing all the same. She headed back to apparently what was her table, in the far corner of the library, and didn't bother to pick up the discarded volume on the floor.

After settling down in her seat, Hermione furiously began to scribble down sentences to complete her essay. Draco slowly lowered himself into an oak chair, and took out his own essay, which had barely a few sentences.

Grabbing his Arithmancy book out of his bag, he flipped it open to the appropriate page and scanned it for something at least half-useful. After jotting down some quick notes, he began to scratch out some decent sentences.

A half hour later, he smiled and pushed the essay away from him, capping his ink. He looked up at Hermione, who was furiously re-reading hers for about the seventeenth time. Every so often, she would mutter to herself, tap her parchment, and fix a mistake. After this proofread, however, she seemed to be satisfied, and rolled it up.

"Well, I'm done," she stated simply, throwing her stuff haphazardly into his bag. Draco slid his books and such across the table into his bag as well, and they both headed out of the library.

"That was lucky," Draco said, as they were ushered out of the library by an angry Madam Pince, who was attempting to lock the doors for the night when they went to exit. Knowing they couldn't get in trouble for being out of bed late, since they were the Head Boy and Girl, Draco steered her back to the dorms the longer route.

"So, something tells me you weren't going to the library just to finish your essay," Hermione said suddenly, eyeing him oddly. Draco continued to walk forward, and was silent for a moment.

"You might be right," he finally decided upon, and they walked the rest of the way to common room in silence, although he did see Hermione open her mouth to speak more than once. Hermione said the password when they arrived at the portrait, and they entered quickly.

"Oh! Look!" Hermione pointed out, and they both walked quickly towards the coffee table, where there was a small note laid there.

Hermione picked it up and read it to herself, and Draco peered over her shoulder to get a better look.

_Dear Draco and Hermione, _

_I have set the first Hogmeade weekend for next weekend, November 2__nd__. Please make sure all prefects are informed by this date, and be sure to remember to help escort the third years down the correct path. _

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster._

Hermione turned to Draco and smiled. "This is so exciting!"

"Uhm, right. And why's that?"

"First Hogsmeade weekend! And it's right after Halloween too!"

Draco swallowed slowly, realizing he still didn't have a date for the Halloween ball. He had always thought he could invite Hermione, but he was pretty sure she would say no. Ron and Harry would throw a fit. Which meant he needed to find a date.

"Halloween. And the ball. Right," he said finally, and Hermione put the note done and casually laid down on the couch, curling up into a ball with a content expression on her face.

"You have a date, I'm sure?" Hermione asked quietly, and it dawned on Draco that she must have been expecting him to ask her. He shifted uncomfortable from foot to foot for a moment, but before he could speak, Hermione continued. "I mean, that's fine. I pretty much knew you would."

"I don't," he said, practically cutting her off. "I don't think I'll go with anyone."

Hermione seemed taken aback, and then recovered immediately. "Oh, I see. Well if you didn't want to be alone then…well… I don't have a date either."

Draco stared at her and then replied, "Are you asking me to the ball?" Smirking, he stepped closer to the couch, and Hermione stood up and walked closer to him.

She leaned into his ear and whispered the word, "Yes." Draco nuzzled the side of her head and looked into his eyes before closing them as Draco's lips brushed onto hers. He placed his hand onto the small of her back and another hand into her hair as they kissed slowly.

Quite suddenly, Hermione pulled away and looked at him with an unreadable expression, one that Draco took to be passion. He smiled as her mouth neared his again. She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him into her and he slowly led her back onto the couch.

Lying down on top of Hermione, Draco meshed his tongue with hers, brushing his thumb against the side of her face, admiring the quality of her baby soft skin. His other hand he ran up the side of her shirt, grabbing at the material and dragging his hand over her body.

Hermione's hands we locked into his hair, which thoroughly annoyed Draco to think his hair was being tangled. But nonetheless, he allowed this act to continue as his hand crept up her shirt slowly, caressing her stomach as he went.

Draco's expectations had not been high with Hermione, but he had been mistaken, as she bypassed them instantly. She was very good at kissing, he had to admit, intimate but not too much, and just the right amount of passion to keep Draco asking for more.

Just as Draco's hand had reached her breasts, Hermione slid onto top of him and then off. Draco gave her a look which clearly said he was angry.

"What?" she asked innocently and rushed, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder as she headed towards her room.

"Tease," he grumbled, getting up as well and following her up the stairs. When they got to the top, Hermione leaned over and gave him one kiss on the lips and had put her hand on the doorknob before Draco spoke.

"I'd like to go to the ball with you," he said slowly. "As long as you look…well…up to my standards."

Hermione scoffed and gave him a dirty look. "Up to your _standards?_" she spat at him, and Draco smirked. "Are you saying I'm not good enough?"

"No…well…I…" he stammered.

"Draco, if you're looking for a quick shag then-"

"What's wrong with that?" he exclaimed, and then quickly knew he had made a mistake. Hermione screeched, opening her door, and then slammed it in his face.

"Hermione! I didn't mean that!" he screamed through the door, pounding on it.

"Go away." He heard her say through the door, and he knew she was leaning against it.

"Fine!" he yelled, and stomped his way into his room, and not bothering to change, threw himself into his bed and fell asleep.

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"So, haven't seen you with Granger at all today," Todd commented, and Draco shot him a look that clearly told him not to mention it further. But Todd wasn't going to give in. "Did you two row?"

Draco simply nodded, trying to concentrate on his potion. Usually, he and Hermione worked together, but Hermione had suggested he and Harry switch partners, and Snape, in a seemingly bad mood, had agreed without much thought.

On the bright side, Harry had been paired with Todd, so it hadn't had been too much of a loss. Draco looked over to Hermione, who was laughing at something that Potter had said, Draco scowled and turned back to Todd.

"Not going the way you want?" Todd suggested, and Draco shook his head.

"I can't do this dare if she's being the world's biggest-"

"I didn't mean like that," Todd said, cutting Draco off in mid rant. Draco looked confused.

"Then what do you mean?"

"It's more than what meets the eye with Granger, isn't it? For you?" Todd explained, dropping his voice to a whisper.

"If you mean that I like her…" he stopped, looking at Todd for a reaction. His grin held a triumphant look, and Draco dropped his voice even lower. "That's crazy talk, she's a mudblood."

"Don't let her hear you say that, you'll lose your chance," he said sarcastically, grinning even wider while tipping roots into their cauldron. "And either way, mate, she's a nice catch."

Draco's hands were shaking, trying to stay in control. "It's not like that," he said slowly, taking a deep breath.

"Draco, look. I'm not going to tell anyone else. Call off the dare or something. But if you like her, well, you've got 7 months left before you'll probably never see her again."

Taking deep breaths, Draco grabbed his bag off the back of his chair, threw in his potions book, and stormed out of the dungeons without looking back. Having nowhere to go in particular, he ran up to his dorm, dropped off his bag, and headed out again.

Deciding it was best to stay out of teacher detection, Draco traced a path up to the Astronomy Tower. Ignoring the cloth barrier in front of it, he hopped up the stone steps. Up and up he went, still fuming from Todd's discovery and the row with her Hermione. Finally, upon reaching the top, he took big gulps of fresh mountain air.

He walked over to the battlements and looked out over the grounds. He could see the quidditch pitch, where he would have practice tonight, and beyond that, the lake. Draco sighed and settled against the wall of the castle, trying to collect his thoughts.

He pulled a scrap bit of parchment out of his robes pocket and a quill. Looking around, he noticed a spare pot of ink lying on the ground, probably from the previous night's lesson. He stretched out and grabbed it and opened it, spilling a little down the side.

Dipping in his quill, he began to scrawl out a design onto the crinkled parchment and using the stone ground as a hard surface. Slowly, a picture formed on the sheet, and Draco smiled as he applied the finishing touches. He was embarrassed by his feelings being on paper, but proud of the calligraphy.

Looking down, his eyes scanned over the H.G. written in slanted, fancy writing, a snitch in the background, showing it's path behind it, which was traced as a heart. Draco capped the ink pot and rolled it back over to the spot where it had been. He neatly folded the doodle and shoved it into his pocket with his quill.

Draco distantly heard the bell ring, signaling the end of classes for the day. His stomach was rumbling, and knew that he would need to go to dinner and face Todd and Hermione, but for now, he wasn't going to move. He twisted his wand in his fingers for a moment, contemplating what to do.

A noise disrupted his thoughts, and he glanced towards the entrance. He could he the distinct sound of shoes clicking onto stone, echoing down the staircase. He chose not to move, but watched the entrance intently.

He knew who it was before they even walked fully through the door. He noticed her smooth hands and pale skin, and could smell her perfume before her head even whipped into sight. She had a very cold look on her facial features, and Draco stood up instantly, ready for another row.

She stomped over to him, dropping her bag, and stood right up to him. This, however, wasn't too threatening, as he towered over her by a considerable amount. She looked angry, but Draco could see forgiveness reflected in the depth of her brown eyes.

"How did you know I was-"

"Here? I came here on a whim."

Draco gave her a confused look.

"I gave it a good guess. I figured if you weren't here, I could check the grounds at least from the view. Beyond that, I would have given up." She smirked at him, and Draco shrugged it off.

"So…do you need something?" Draco asked slowly, and Hermione smacked him on the arm.

"I came to see if you were alright Draco," she said quickly, avoiding his penetrating icy blue stare, choosing instead to look at clammy stone beneath her.

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern."

"You don't have to be snappy with me Draco. Please, I'm sorry for last night."

"Don't apologize, I was out of line."

"For being truthful?" she asked, and Draco could see hurt in her eyes.

"It wasn't true Hermione. It really isn't like that." For a second, he almost told her about the dare, but he knew it would ruin everything.

"Then why did you even say it if you hadn't thought about it?" she said matter-of-factly, and Draco smiled at her tone. He pulled her close to her and kissed her lightly, which she allowed him to do. Then she pushed him away, gathered her stuff, and headed towards the stairwell.

"Hermione, wait up."

She turned around to face him, books in her hand. She looked so much like she had years ago, and Draco could remember all the years he had tormented her. For a split second, he could see both of them, 11 years old again.

"Yes, Draco?" she asked calmly, and Draco could see there were tears forming in her eyes. He lifted up her chin gently and kissed her again, pulling her close to him.

"Go to the ball with me?"

"I thought I wasn't good enough for you."

"You're too good for me, Hermione. That's the problem."

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**Done. Read and review! And read Deathly Hallows!**


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